Electrical vacuum apparatus



IVI. SCHENKEL.

ELECTRICAL VACUUM APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6. 1916. Lgfgggys Patented Jan. 20, 1920..

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M. SCHENKEL.

ELECTRICAL VACUUM APPARATUS.

APPucATloN FILED sEPT.s.191s.

Patented J an. 20, 1920.

l'UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

MoRITz scHENKEL, 0E CHARLOTTENBURG, NEAR BERLIN, GERMANY, AssIoNoR To sIEMENs-scHUcKERT-WERKE, G. M. B. H., oF BERLIN, GERMANY, A CORPORATION 0F GERMANY.

ELECTRICAL VACUUM APPARATUS.

Application filed September 6, 1916.

To all whom t may concern:

proveinents in Electrical Vacuum Apparatus, of which they following is a specification.

My invention refers to electrical vacuum apparatus and more especially to the kind of apparatus wherein .the anodes or the like require heating to a high temperature, such as for instance mercury vapor arc rectifiers.

In such apparatus it is old to subdivide the vacuum chamber without however severing the connection between the sectional chambers. In this manner the condensation chamber where the vapors not partaking in the conducting of the current are condensed, is separated from the vapor chamber containing the electrodes and more especially the anodes. The re have been proposed quite a number of different constructions in which the vapor chamber is either arranged in lateral extensions -of the vacuum vessel or is separatedwithin the vacuum vessel by aid of partitions.

All these older constructions present however the drawback of having the seals for the conductors in the vacuum vessel disposed in close vicinity to the anodes. In

order, now, to prevent condensation at the anodes and back-striking of the are result ing therefrom, the anodes must' be heated to a temperature somewhere between 100 and 500 degr., while the seals in order to keep permanently tight should not exceed a temperature of 20 to 60 degr. i

According to the present invention the anodes and the seals are separated from each other by means of a third chamber arranged between them, this chamber serving at the same time for conducting to the anodes the'heat required for obtaining and maintaining the working temperature required. This chamber separated from the other chambers of the vacuum apparatus may be designed as the anode heating chamber. It may be subdivided or else a plurality of such heating chambers may be provided in one and the same apparatus, each heating chamber in this latter case feeding only part of the anodes.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 20, 1920. Serial No. 118.697.

In accordance with the aforesaid the rectifier vessel is subdivided into three separated chambers, the condensation chamber, the vapor chamber and the heating chamber. The condensation chamber and the vapor chamber must be in permanent connection with each other, while the heating chamber may be either connected with them or else may be separated from them by an air-tight paitition; in this latter case the heating chamber may serve as a preliminary vacuum.

In the drawing afiixed to the specification and forming part thereof different forms of a rectifier according to my invention are shown in vertical section, Figure l showing the left hand part of one modification, while Figs. 2 and 8 represent two different modifications in a diagrammatic manner.

Referring now to Fig. l ofthe drawings 1 is the vacuum vessel of a mercury vapor arc. rectifier, 2 is the cover and 3 is an annular seal serving to provide for an airtight connection between the vessel and its cover. 4 is a water channel serving to cool this connection. The cover further carries seals 5 for the current conductors 6, a single conductor being shown in the drawing. In general there are as many of these conductors provided as there are anodes arranged in the rectifier. The conductor seals may as well be cooled by aid of water channels 7 The conductors 6 are preferably made hollow, so as to conduct to the anodes, beside the electric current also the liquid or gaseous means for keeping up the high temperature of the anodes required. The heating of the anodes may be effected before the rectifier is working, and any suitable heating means, such as heating coils, may be provided instead of hollow conductors.

In the rectifier shown in Fig. 1, 8 is the condensation chamber, 9 the vapoi chamber, and 10 the anode heating chamber according to the present invention. In the lower part of the condensation chamber there is disposed the cathode vessel 11 serving to separate the annular mercury surface 12 from the total mass 13 of the mercury. The condensation chamber 8 is surrounded by a water jacket l-f serving to iminediatel)P condense the excess mercury vapor and to prevent it from passing into the vapor chamber 9. The upper sepai'atioii disk l5 of the condensation chamber may be placed upon an annular shoulder 16 from above. It is made of a heat conducting material such as a metal and is not cooled, so that the mercury vapors ascending from below will transmit part of their heat to the anode heating chamber 10. In case, however, the heat generated at the. anodes themselves should be sutlicient for heating chamber 10, the disk or partition 15 may as well be made of a. heat insulating material such as porcelain and may be kept as cool as possible in order to enlarge the condensation surface within the condensation chamber 8.

The vapor chamber 9 is a unit by itself and contains the partitions 17, 18, 19, 20 made. of porcelain, the annular anodes 21, 22, 23, the asbestos seals such as 24 and 25 between the anodes and the porcelain partitions being held together by aid of disk 15, pressure ring 26 and stud bolts 27. By simply removing the cover 2 the anode chamber as a whole together with all the parts arranged therein may be lifted from the rectifier vessel. The anodes themselves form part of the wall sepa-rating the vapor chamber 9 and the heating chamber 10, and the contact faces of the individual parts of the vapor chamber may be provided in a well known manner with grooves and the like serving to secure a safe and centric lit of all the parts and to prevent any mercury vapor from escaping into the chamber 10. In this manner a close fit may be obtained for instance where the heating chamber 10 is designed to serve as a preliminary vacuum for the chambers 8 and 9. There this is not necessary, the top plate 20 need not be solid but may be provided with openings or may even be dispensed with altogether.

Instead of annular anodes any other suitable kind of anodes may be used such as cylindrical anodes which may pass through the upper cover plate 20 of the vapor chamber in any suitable arrangen'ient, for instance in a festoon-like wayand may be fastened to it the same as they are usually arranged in the opening of the wall of the rectifier vessel itself.

The anode heating chamber 10 may also be lled with heat insulating bodies 29 (Fig. 1) which are preferably made of an electric insulating material in order to be able to employ bare conductors (i. The heat insulating bodies serve as a special protection for the seals 3 and 5 inasmuch as they create withinthe heating chamber a higher fall of 'temperature toward the Seals than toward the anodes to which the heat should pass as freely as possible.` The anode conductors 6 may be curved and be arranged in windings 29 so as to prevent through their elasticity detrimental pressure effects to be transmitted to the seal 5 and in order to increase their electrical resistance. and their surface `particular form of these chambers.

and thusI to increase, also the amount of heat radiated into the heating chamber.

The relative. position of the condensation, vapor and heating chambers may vary. Two different forms-are shown in Figs. 2 and l In the modification according to Fig. 2 the 'condensation chamber 8 is arranged above the anodes, its walls passing through the rupper cover 20 of the vapor chamber and through the cover 2 of the rectifier vessel. Here the vapor chamber is disposed between the cathode and the condensation chamber.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3 the vapors escape from the cathode immediately into the condensation chamber 8 and the vapor chamber 9 is disposed outside its pe riphery. Since here the condensation chamber 8 is surrounded by the heating chamber 10, I prefer surrounding its wall with heat insulating material or else employing a wall made of such materials which will prevent any heat escaping from the heating chamber.

I wish it to be understood that my invention is quite independent from the way in which the different chambers are disposed relatively to each other, as also from the 1n all the modifications the fact that a special heating chamber for the anodes is provided, facilitates the controlling and regulating of the anode temperature and at the same time prevents the transmission of heat to such parts as shall be kept cool. My invention is further applicable also to rectiers provided With glow cathodes.

1. In electric vacuum apparatus the combination of an evacuated receptacle, an annular chamber and an electrode serving as a partition between said receptacle and said chamber.

2. In electric vacuum apparatus the combination of an evacuated receptacle, an annular chamber and a plurality of electrodes forming a partition between said receptacle and said chamber.

3. In electric vacuum apparatus the combination of an evacuated receptacle, an annular chamber hermetically sealed against said receptacle and at least one electrode between said receptacle and said chamber.

4. In electric vacuum apparatus the combination of an evacuated receptacle, an annular chamber and an air-tight partition serving as electrode between said receptacle and said chamber.

5. In electric vacuum apparatus the combination of an evacuated receptacle, an annular chamber, at least one electrode separating said receptacle from said chamber and means within said chamber for barring the way to the heat developed within said electrodes.

ice

In electri l vacuum apparatus the colubiuation of an evacuated receptacle, an anbination of an evacuated 1eceptacle,'an annular chamber, at least one electrode Se anular chamber, at least one electrode separating said receptacle from said ehamliel 10 rating said receptacle from said chamber and bodies of low heat and electric conduc- 5 and heat insulating bodies within said tvity within said chamber.

chamber.

7.l In electric vacuum apparatus the eem- MORTZ SCHENKEL. 

